New Scientist


SpaceX’s Starship will orbit Earth for first time during next flight

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Starship's next test flight will be its first orbital mission. The craft will also release working Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, making the flight the first commercially useful Starship mission


Physicists are scrambling to make sense of possible dark matter signal

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Following the possible recent detection of a dark matter particle, researchers have already come up with a veritable cornucopia of possible models for what sort of particle it might have been


Fishapod fossil shows early elbows came in a variety of forms

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The fish that preceded the first four-legged land animals came in a wider variety of forms than we had thought, and fossils show that one had an elbow joint that moved in an oddly restrictive way


Our brain evolved from two primitive nervous systems that merged

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

The front and back parts of our brain come from different progenitor cells in embryos, which suggests they evolved as separate entities


See the dazzling images that won Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Stunning pictures of nebulae, stars, the moon and more took top prizes in this year's astrophotography competition, organised by the Royal Observatory in London


Robots clash in first naval engagement between uncrewed sea drones

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian Navy used an uncrewed vessel to attack and sink an uncrewed naval robot operated by Russian forces


Beautiful new cat species is first to be named in a century

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000

The enigmatic tiger cats of South America now encompass a new species – the tilcayo – bringing the number of known tiger cat species to five


Short bursts of exercise can boost your cognition

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Just a couple of minutes of walking around or stretching every hour can improve memory and attention span


Ancient skeleton shows woman in imperial China had her nose amputated

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Texts from imperial China suggest that some crimes were punishable with unusual amputations and a 700-year-old skeleton appears to offer the first physical evidence of the practice


Plug-in solar panels still have safety risks in the UK despite legalisation

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Plug-in solar panels offer reduced bills and can help boost renewable energy on Great Britain's grid, but concerns around their safety remain